Taiwan would stand with Europe and all like-minded nations to show the world its determination to safeguard democracy and freedom, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made back-to-back visits to Europe.
Hsiao made a rare visit to Brussels on Friday and delivered a speech addressing the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) at the European Parliament building.
Lai yesterday expressed gratitude to Hsiao for shouldering the important task, as well as thanking IPAC for its invitation, which allowed Taiwan to present its unwavering beliefs to the world.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Noting that Tsai on Saturday departed for a visit to Germany to address the Berlin Freedom Conference today, Lai expressed the hope that the visit would deepen cooperation between Taiwan and its democratic partners.
Upon her arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday, Hsiao said Taiwan has been facing a difficult international situation.
“All this time, Taiwan has faced hardships, unfair treatment and setbacks. Nothing has been easy,” she said.
“But we have never backed down, because we believe that Taiwanese — like all global citizens — deserve the opportunity to participate in the international community,” she said.
“Thanks to the efforts and support of the Taiwanese public, we remain committed to forging a path through these ongoing hardships and challenges, one step at a time,” she added.
“Conveying the voice of Taiwanese to the world has always been our responsibility, and allowing the world to see the good in Taiwan and support Taiwan is our mission,” Hsiao said.
Hsiao said she was honored to represent Taiwan in a session dedicated to the nation, sharing its democratic story with European friends, parliamentarians, civil society and the media, expressing the hope for greater international understanding and support for Taiwan.
IPAC has long been Taiwan’s most steadfast partner, actively supporting Taiwan with concrete actions, advocating for Taiwan’s international participation, stressing the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait and regional stability, and voicing support for Taiwan in the international community, she said.
Referencing her speech titled “Taiwan: A Trusted Partner in a Volatile World,” Hsiao said that a free and resilient Taiwan, as an important partner in reshaping global supply chains and a responsible member of the international community, is indispensable to global peace and prosperity and a democratic future.
She called on global partners to deepen trade and technology cooperation with Taiwan, strengthen dialogue on resilience and security and support Taiwan’s international participation to jointly safeguard peace in the Taiwan Strait and regional stability.
“We have let the world see the good in Taiwan and support us. We will continue to take confident, pragmatic and firm steps to demonstrate Taiwan’s aspiration, goodwill and democratic strength to the world,” Hsiao said.
Tsai called the vice president’s visit to Europe profoundly significant for Taiwan, adding that “diplomacy is a relay, a task that never ceases.”
Tsai said she would convey Taiwan’s determination to safeguard democracy and freedom to the world, as she announced her departure for Germany in a recorded video message released on Saturday.
Tsai is scheduled to give a speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference, she said, expressing her anticipation to deepen cooperation with Germany through a series of exchanges.
Echoing Lai, she said that Taiwan, as a trustworthy partner of the international community will firmly stand with Europe and other like-minded allies.
She would uphold such an attitude to show the world Taiwan’s resolve to protect freedom and democracy, Tsai said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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